Live The Dream

For many, retirement is the time to live the dream. Which dream is that? For lots of us, the dream is travel—to see the world.

We ourselves are baby boomers. We are thinking a lot about retirement. Much as is the case for lots of our contemporaries, “what we want” and “what we can afford” seem to belong to different universes. That doesn’t keep us from dreaming.

Being a realist doesn’t have to get in the way of living your dream. Realistically, we have to live within our budget. That’s true, whether we are gainfully employed or game-fully retired. The cost of hotels can eat up a travel budget quickly. Since we are not inclined to give up our dream of travel—despite our budget constraints—we have to get creative.

By “creative,” I don’t mean live the dream of travel vicariously by a steady diet of travel videos or Amazon flicks with an international theme. We don’t want to get used to thinking, “if it’s Tuesday, this must be London,” and mean “it must be time for a London travelog.” We want to live the dream—not watch it on TV.

So, what kind of creative approach puts travel within reach of our budget?

We opt for the home swap as an affordable way to travel. The home swap provides free accommodation, with the added benefit that we get to live like a local (anywhere in the world).

If you haven’t, yet, experienced the home swap as a creative means of living the dream, it isn’t too late. Nor is it too early (or too soon). It is not necessary to wait for retirement, to travel. Join a home exchange club. Network with others who are inviting you to live in their home, so they can travel because you will let them live in your home.

Once you become a member of a home exchange network, you simply email the owners of a house, a vacation home, a condo, or a flat somewhere you would like to travel—and negotiate for a mutually agreeable arrangement.

You are not the only one who dreams of travel. Find someone with whom to do a home swap—and live the dream.